Build update

The internal block support wall running up alongside stairway opening is now complete. The new first floor joists all in oak has been installed and trimmed back over the stairwell.

As the floor joists are to be exposed I suggested to the builder that we lay the plasterboard on top of the floor joists before laying the floor board. This would save time later plaster boarding from underneath. This has worked out brilliantly well and all that needs to be done is to carry out plaster skim work and we are done. I had thoughts about the plasterboard crushing under the weight of furniture loading but decided that the floor board would distribute the load sufficiently not be an issue.

We have issued an electrical layout to the builders giving switching positions/arrangements as well as power outlet positions and tv outlets. So we had to carefully think out were we wanted beds and furniture to be put. There has been a change in programme and with the freezing weather setting in any stonework operations is out of question.The builders efforts over the coming are now concentrating on the first floor works,first fixes, insulating and boarding the ceiling.

Floors

The beginning of December saw an insulated solid concrete floor being laid in the house. This is a vast improvement on the brick tile floor laid directly on the ground. We have salvaged the tiles and hope to eventually lay them back down as a floor finish.

The last few weeks leading up to Christmas has seen focus switching to the first floor structure. With the chestnut floor boarding removed the builders have been able to inspect the ends of the timber joists that are embedded in the walls.

We were prepared to replace the odd timber or two and also support the joists from the underside with a timber frame to provide additional support and to take some of the deflection out of the floor, re-using some of the old oak roof timbers for the support frame. However, as ever, things have not worked as planned. 

The majority of the floor joists are rotten and there is a dip in the floor of about 50mm from one of the building to the other. Weighing up all the options we decided to renew the floor joists in oak. These have worked out to be 200x80 at 450 centres for a span of 5.4m.

So we go into the New Year hoping that the new windows and doors will go in over the next few weeks followed by plastering of ground floor walls. But this is France so who knows!

Roof complete.

Our roof is now complete, fully tiled and complete with roof lights. We now have a light airy space in what was once the Grenier and really looks fantastic with the natural stone walls that for 100 years haven't seen the light of day.

We now have some really interesting dynamics going on in the building which has again changed our thoughts on how we progress with the renovation works. It would be a crime not to keep areas of the stonework. So we have decided to re-point the front  and rear walls and to insulate and plasterboard the  gable.

    

 The next stage of the works is to look at the condition of the first floor joists. These are a cause of concern with several of the timbers being in poor condition. The floor is "bouncy" and slopes by around 50mm from one end to the other. So over next few days the builder is going to take a look at things and advise us on things.

Over the next few weeks it is planned to lay the new concrete floor and form the new door and window openings. The new hardwood double glazed doors and windows have been delivered. So it should be all go but this is France so we are not holding our breath!

Roof nearly complete

Our new roof is nearly complete after what seems an age with house exposed to the elements. The joiners have been taking full advantage of the September sunshine and the timber roof structure is finally in place, fully constructed and trimmed out ready to receive the Velux rooflights.

We were given the news last week that the chimney stack was unstable and needed to be re-built. This came of no great surprise given the age of the property and that the mortar bonding the stonework and brickwork together is clay based (ie mud). The plus side of this is that the stack has been reconstructed re-using the bricks. If you look closely at the photographs you can just see the leadwork that has been built into the brickwork that will be dressed over the tiles.

You will also notice that the there are little columns or pillars to the corners of the stack. These will eventually support a concrete or stone capping slab. This is the french way of doing things although they also have clay chimney pots in much the same way as in the UK. There is also an element of making good of the stonework along the gables and at the wallplate position.

With the rooflights having been picked up by our neighbours and safely stored in their garage and with the tiles having arrived last week together with the felt and battens, fingers crossed we shall  have achieved our first construction milestone by the end of the week. At this point we have to thank our friends and neighbours Martin and Angela for taking these photos and keeping us informed on progress and generally "running around" on our behalf ensuring that things dont go wrong - something that often does if you aren't "on site".

Anyone seen my bike?

 During the work to remove the existing roof structure of all things a bike was found in the roof space. This was thrown unceremoniously over the wall only to be caught in the ivy growing on the wall. We are thinking of framing this and sending to the builders. 

                                   

There was a suggestion that we should extend the renovation project to include the bike. Needless to say the bike found its way into the skip.

Now the roof has gone the next job is to level up and strength the existing wall . This is being done by the casting a reinforced concrete ring beam to tie the walls together. The photograph below shows the timber formwork in position ready to receive the reinforcement and concrete. There needs to be a similar beam casting to the front with tie rods connecting them together to form a rigid box. Then the new roof can be put on.

 

Holiday report part 2

During our stay in France, holed up in our little touring caravan waiting for the rain to stop, we had plenty of time to think about how we wanted to renovate the cottage. We decided to discard with the underfloor heating to the ground floor opting instead for a log burning stove kicking out up to 7 KW.

More than enough space heating. We will probably put in a some electric convectors in here and there as background heating for the Winter months when we may not be there.




The biggest decision was to take up the existing clay floor tiles which have been laid directly on the ground and are an original feature of the house. They are 30mm thick so these will be re-bedded onto the new floor construction. They will need a bit of cleaning before they go back down but it will be worth the hard work.

Holiday report part 1

We have just got back from a holiday in  France having spent the best part of two weeks in our Caravan pitched up in the back garden of our house. Our friends opposite had cut the grass down to as far as possible and prepared a nice pitch for the van. The builders had opened up the hedge off the lane so we could drive into the back garden, mains water and electric had been laid on and we have 3000 litre fosse to dispose of our toilet waste.

Everything was perfect except we forgot to order the sun. Ten days of continuous rain, seriously stopped any real work on the house and any chance of topping up our tans  The previous week scaffold had been erected around the house and the front wall re-built up to approximate floor level. The roof tiles had been removed and broken up for hardcore. Our poor house is now open to the elements with only the skeleton of a roof for protection and the rain continued to fall day after day.

Stumped

As planned the work has now commenced on renovating our little cottage. First the front wall came down with the stone being reclaimed for re-use at a later date. Soon however, two days of good progress soon came to a halt by a very stubborn Bay tree that occupied the front corner of the house that just refused to be uprooted.

After much scratching of heads involving a couple of architects, the  builders, a passing farmer in a tractor with a herd of sheep and many of our neighbours it was decided that we needed a man with a large excavator. So we called upon Ian the guy who installed the fosse to save the day. As is the way in France after a long patient wait of two weeks the devis eventually came through which turned out to be far too expensive. After further head scratching a local municipal works contractor was contacted and the stump finally yielded to a JCB and a very skilled driver.

We are now waiting for the scaffold to be erected so we can start on the roof.

It's all go!

At long last we have the news we have been waiting for. We now have the permis de construire  for the renovation work to our little stone cottage. So everything is set for a start on the work this week. 

First we will be digging out for a driveway and also for the courtyard at the back of the house.The topsoil will be stockpiled for future landscaping works and the areas filled with locally sourced crushed stone as hardcore. For the technically minded the stone is graded from dust to 30mm that will compact quite nicely but also lets water percolate through it. The courtyard area will be gravelled to start with but as we start to spend time more time out in France we will probably form some areas of paving here and there. 

 

Also next week I think the front stone wall is being demolished and the offending bay tree dug out. This has been the cause of the wall collapsing and if not removed it will start to give problems with the house foundations We are keeping the stone to use elsewhere, probably to build some ornamental walls in the courtyard area or even used to repair the outhouses.

Fosse Septique - Fin

Yesterday our fosse septique was finally completed after a long week toil by our Contractor. It has been passed by the inspectors and for us its the first construction milestone reached.

However, that's not where it quite ends. It is France you see. When asking for the operating and maintenance manuals and guarantee for the pump I could see all of a sudden I needed to learn a third language as I was clearly not being understood. However, being a stubborn sole and really insisting on these things I have been promised that these will be forthcoming but would first need to be collected from the four corners of the earth, before being sent onto us.

I don't think it was so much my powers of persuasion that brought about this sudden change in helpfulness but more of a sudden realisation on the Contractors part that he was still owed quite alot of money. I am now thinking until I get these bits of paper I will with hold just a tiny amount of money from the job.

So from now on there should be no more hedgehogs having to be rescued from open excavations and the build work can now begin .That reminds me, I must check on the planning permission with the Maries office  - it has gone really quite!!

Fosse Septique Pt 5

Many moons may have past and our fosse is still not finished. But the good news is that we have finally had an inspection from the authories and everything is now sorted out technically speaking. All we have to do is wait for the man to come back with his machine to finish off, He's promised to be back in the next two or three weeks.

This is France so we are not holding my breath. The good thing is that we still owe the Contractor half his money so there's quite some incentive for him to complete as soon as he can. Just maybe the exchange rate will change to our favour by the time we need to pay him  - fat chance of that I think.

Credit Agricole

We have just received a cheque book for the bank account that we opened in France. It has taken a few weeks to arrive but what a surprise when we found that each cheque is printed with a colourful picture. In our case there are various themes connected with the Charente region. For example a building, views of  the countryside and various animals.

I am not sure if these pictures are intended to make the writing of cheques less painful but it is certainly is different. It reminds me of a time in the 1970s when the banks in the UK did a similar thing but the practice soon died out.
 


We found opening an account with Credit Agricole a very easy process with the English speaking staff member on hand  making the whole process a pleasing experience. However, like the banks in the UK they did like pushing there own products such as building and life insurance. On that the French banks are different to those from over here.

For anyone wanting to know how to correctly make out  a french cheque follow this link.

http://www.lost-in-france.com/living-in-france/finance/115-how-to-write-out-a-french-cheque